The World Series champion Chicago Cubs just added some depth to their pitching staff by acquiring Eddie Butler from the Colorado Rockies.
Rockies trade pitcher to Cubs
Butler, a 25 year old right-hander, was traded to Chicago for James Farris and the ability to swap international bonus slot money. This swap means that the Rockies will receive an additional $255k for their international signing pool along with moving up to the 28th slot and the Cubs will now select 74th.
Eddie Butler began his career with the Colorado Rockies after being drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft.
He was heavily touted as one of the best prospects in baseball being ranked as high as 24th overall by Baseball America. Butler dominated the Pioneer League and was selected to play in the 2013 All Star Futures Game after going 7-1 with a 2.13 ERA and 55 strikeouts. His stellar play in the Colorado farm system gained him an invite to spring training in 2014.
On June 6, 2014 Eddie Butler made his major league debut giving up 6 runs on 10 hits in a little over 5 innings. Although his debut was a loss, Butler gained valuable experience that is necessary to have a successful career in major league baseball. He was demoted soon after but came back to spring training the following year and earned a spot in the rotation as the Rockies’ fifth starter.
He struggled for the most part of 2015 and was demoted and called back up twice during the year. He finished the season with a 3-10 record and a 5.90 ERA. Despite the lousy statistics, his potential is what the Chicago Cubs are interested in because he’s still young and has all the raw tools to be an effective pitcher at the major league level.
Cubs trying to figure out fifth spot in rotation
Chicago currently does not have a fifth starter so Butler will be competing with Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson for the job. As we saw in last year’s playoffs, having a quality pitching staff is key to being a contender and organizations are focusing more on starting pitchers and relievers. If Eddie Butler can regain the form he had in the early stages of his career, he could potentially play a major role in the Chicago Cubs bid to repeat as World Series Champions.
